River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-11-03
IMPATIENT CREDITORS.


some Of the Schemes Adopted to Secure
the Payment of Bad Debts.
The problem of collecting ''bad
iebis" is one of ever-increasing per-
olexily; and numerous are the devices
suggested and tried to that end. As
iociations in almost every branch of
rade and business have been formed
or the purpose Of cireumven ting the
beat" who buys without intending To
pay, and of reaching him when by any
,hance he has succeeded in his design.
But the beat still fiourishes at the
cost of the butcher. the baker and can
ilestiek- maker. to say nothing Of tho
grocer. the tailor and the hotel-keep-
n. BLACK list and confidential
.ircular' are alike fu lie; and when
The army of .'bcats" is supplemented
BY the army of unfortunates who would
pay if they could. but can not. the ar
,ay of bad debts reaches colossal pro-
portions.
One of the newest devices of forcing
collections is the attacking Of the de-
linquent through the rost-ofliee. The
patience Of creditors and collector
having failed. the debtor receives some
morning through the mail his bin in
closed in an envelop whereon is in
scribed in large letters the legend;
/ Dad Debts" At the same time he is
appraised that unless his particular bad
debt is liquidatad his bill will con-
tinue I. seek him out with just such
an envelope until il is paid.
In certain cases, no doubt. this
method is as effective as its inventors
and users claim. Some bad debtors
can uuquestionably be shamed by such
proceeding into paying a debt which
they would otherwise permit to out
law. We doubs very much.
/ however, if the method If eff
/ ficacious enough in the long run
/ or with the mass of bad debtors
to justify the resort to it. The true
beat" can not be shamed in any such
fashion. On the contrary lie viii re-
gard himself upon the reception Of a
/ bad Debt" missive as martyr, and
hold himself justified thereafter in re-
fusing payment if he has never before
attempted Justification. With the
SLOW man or the unfortunate the
process will be equally barren of re-
suits. The former, if in passable
credit, will be angered and abandon.
if he ever entertained it. the intent to
pay The latter will be hurt, perhaps.
but he will not be made any more
I capable of payment.
/ There is risk. too. in the resort 10
/ this method of attempting to collect
bad debts" The sending Of such an
envelope as we have described is d.
rect attack on the credit Of the person
TO whom it is addre ssed, and unqucs-
tionably libelous. If the recipient has
any credit at all and is injured there.
in, he can secure damages from the
sender if not from the creditor who au-
| thorizes collection in such fashion.
There would be no risk, of course, il
all bad debtors were "beats;" but
such. as we have already pointed out,
is not the fact It very often happens
that the non-payment of a bill is due
to dispute as to the amount or as ia
the fact of Indebtedness. A 'bad.
utDb CuNGkOpCs Oub Va y AAClA AZ - HI
timated a lawsuit may grow. was
brought in yesterday in which there is
q difference of two dollars between
creditor and debtor. The former claims
there is four dollars due. The latter
admits that there is two which he
honestly means to pay-or did mean
to pay before his credit was attacked
in the manner described. The sum IS
too small for litigation. but it is easy
to see that in such a case-and there
are many of them-the creditor or his
collector could not well do a more I'm.
wise thing than to inclose his bill in
libelous envelope.
Creditors will. nevertheless. run the
risk Of this scheme or any other which
gives the faintest promise of securing
bad debts. BIT by and by, perhaps.
they will learn that the true method Of
dealing with bad debts is not to have
any. If our credit system were not
grossly abused in he frantic rush TO dc
business and make sales, there would
be no bad debts worth scheming to col
l,of Degraff E'yee Prose